Years before the Supreme Court’s recent decision against racial preferences in college admissions, courts had ruled that college programs that were only open to people of certain races were illegal. And yet, many institutions continue playing the preferences game.
In this Legal Insurrection post, we learn that the University of North Dakota wants to “improve” its diversity by granting tuition waivers to students who fit into “underrepresented” categories.
William Jacobson writes:
UND’s Cultural Diversity Scholarship (CDS) program is open to students from underrepresented populations, which the university defines as “African American/Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Latino/a/x, Hispanic American or Multiracial,” according to an Oct. 30 archive of the website. The UND School of Law offers a similar “Cultural Diversity Tuition Waiver” waiver program.
Governments must treat all citizens as equals, not favoring some over others because of their ancestry. North Dakota should no more grant tuition waivers to “underrepresented” students than it should, say, give free driver’s licenses to drivers who happen to fall into favored groups.
I’m glad to see that the Equal Protection Project of Legal Insurrection is challenging this. The case should be a slam-dunk win.